On I went, out of the wood, passing the man leading without knowing I was going to do so. Flip-flap, flip-flap, jog-trot, jog-trot, curnchslap-crunchslap, across the middle of a broad field again, rhythmically running in my greyhound effortless fashion, knowing I had won the race though it wasn't half over, won it if I wanted it, could go on for ten or fifteen or twenty miles if I had to and drop dead at the finish of it, which would be the same, in the end, as living an honest life like the governor wanted me to. -Alan Sillitoe, "Loneliness of the Long Distance Runner"

Wednesday, December 8, 2010

Now it's officially Christmas time

A friend of mine asked me the other day what my Christmas traditions were.

I realized: I have none.  Literally none.  My family has some, but me, the adult Tracy, has no traditions that are independent of my childhood.

So I got a Christmas tree.  And I decorated it.  With race medals.  It still needs lights, but it's a start.  And it's something to do with all of my medals!


Don't make fun of me.  I happen to know for fact that I am not the only Christmas running dork out there.

I might have been raised in the UCC, but I'm equal opportunity when it comes to celebrating holidays, especially those associated with food.  Here's a photo from a latke party I went to over the weekend.  Would you believe that I'd never had a latke before?


I didn't run this past weekend.  That may - MAY - have been related to the fact that I left Brooklyn (where the latke party was being held) at a reasonable hour Saturday night.  I remember dozing off on the subway, but I don't remember how I got my sleeping bag down from a high shelf before collapsing into it on the couch.  I'm sure I was just tired and not drunk, but the bottles of wine on the table suggest that the two aren't mutually exclusive.
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5 comments:

  1. AnonymousWed Dec 08, 09:46:00 AM EST

    Nice, love the tree! I don't think my family would tolerate my medals on the tree, but maybe I can sneak one...

    ReplyDelete
  2. kilaxWed Dec 08, 01:20:00 PM EST

    Aww! I love your tree!

    ReplyDelete
  3. Silly Girl RunningThu Dec 09, 04:20:00 AM EST

    I won't make fun of you. Promise. What I will do, is steal this idea from you! :) Medal trees all over the planet!

    ReplyDelete
  4. AnonymousThu Dec 09, 08:59:00 AM EST

    What is the brown medal in the front towards the top?

    ReplyDelete
  5. TThu Dec 09, 10:54:00 AM EST

    I wouldn't expect you to recognize the Flying Monkey Marathon medal, Ian.

    I'll see you at next year's race.

    ReplyDelete

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